Compressor valve

ABSTRACT

A compressor valve having a spring-loaded valve plate arranged between a valve seat and catcher, the valve plate being slidingly guided on axial guide webs to which radial catcher ribs are connected, wherein the guide webs and the catcher ribs together form guide segments, the guide segments being separate structural parts and which are fixed to the catcher as by screw fasteners.

United States Patent [191 Bauer May 28, 1974 [54] COMPRESSOR VALVE2,506,306 5/1950 Mantle 137/516.15

[75] Inventor: Friedrich Bauer, Vienna, Austria I ayer 7/516 17 X [73]Assignee: Hoerbiger Ventilwerke Aktiengesellschaft, Braunhubergass,Vienna, Austria Primary ExaminerRobert G. Nilson crew or rm-Watson;rQeuG in er 8 watson 5 7 ABSTRACT A compressor valve having aspring-loaded valve plate arranged between a valve seat and catcher, thevalve I 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures [22] Filed: Nov. 17, 1972 21 Appl.No.: 307,518

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 26, 1971 Austria 10224/71[52] US. Cl. l37/5l6.l5 [51] Int. Cl Fl6k 15/08 [58] Field ofSearch..... 137/516.15, 516.17, 516.19, 137/516.21, 516.23

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,359,006 11/1920 Wardwell137/516.15

1 COMPRESSOR VALVE The present invention relates to a compressor valvewith a spring-loaded valve plate arranged between a valve seat and acatcher, the valve plate being slidingly guided on axial guide webs towhich radial catcher ribs are connected.

The simplest method of guiding the valve plate of compressor valves is,conventionally, to provide a smooth guide surface on the inner or outerperiphery of the valve plate, along which the valve plate slides duringits lifting movement. A guide surface of this type however prevents themedium from flowing away at the guided periphery of the valve plate. Inorder to avoid the limitation of the flow cross-section which thiscauses, it is already conventional to mill grooves in the guide surfacewith the result that axial guide webs are formed for the valve plate.Moreover, in this arrangement the abutment surface provided on thecatcher is provided with milled radial grooves so that the medium canflow away round the plate between the radial catcher ribs formed in thisway. These grooves which have to be machined out of the catcher arehowever comparatively expensive in manufacture.

The present invention is based on the problem of creating a guideconsisting of axial guide webs and radial catcher ribs which, togetherwith comparatively small outlay on manufacturing costs, providesadditional advantages over and above this. According to the inventionthis is obtained in that the guide webs and the catcher ribs togetherform their own guide segments which are manufactured as separatestructural parts and are fixed to the catcher for instance by threadedfasteners. The guide segments provided according to the invention can besimply manufactured from a solid ring, which is given the requiredshaping by turning, cut away and inserted so as to fit in a recess inthe catcher, so that milling work is unnecessary. The guide segments aremoreover easily exchangeable, with the result that on the appearance ofwear in the guide surfaces they can easily be replaced.

In order to ensure satisfactory centring of the guide segments they canhave an axially projecting centring edge by which they engage in acentring groove of the catcher, whereby also the mounting of the guidesegments is considerably facilitated. Preferably, each guide segment hasa single guide web only, with an associated catcher rib and theindividual guide segments are spaced equally from one another.

With the construction according to the invention there is furthermorethe advantageous possibility of manufacturing the guide segments of amaterial other than that of the catcher, preferably from a materialhaving good slide properties, for instance a plastic material, with theresult that the slide surface according to the invention can be usedalso in non-lubricated valves in which previously for the most partconsiderably more expensive link guides were necessary, for instance invalves of cold compressors.

Accordingly, the present invention consists in a compressor valve with aspring-loaded valve plate arranged between a valve seat and a catcher,the valve plate being slidingly guided on axial guide webs to whichradial catcher ribs are connected, wherein the guide webs and thecatcher ribs together form guide segments, the guide segments beingmanufactured as separate structural parts and then fixed to the catcher.

Preferably the guide segments have an axially projecting centring edgewith which they engage in a centring groove of the catcher.

A particular embodiment of the present invention will now be described,by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows an axial mid-section through a compressor valve.

FIG. 2 is an inverted plan view of a part of a catcher of the compressorvalve of FIG. I.

The compressor valve comprises a valve seat 1, which has flowthroughchannels 2, which are controlled by a valve plate 3. A catcher 4 isarranged over the valve seat 1, which catcher has a recess openingtowards the valve seat 1, in which guide segments 5 are arranged, whichinclude axial guide webs 6 to which are connected the radial catcherribs 7 resting on the catcher 4. A projecting centering edge 8 of theguide segments 5 engages in a centering groove 9 of the catcher 4,whereby the correct installation position is ensured and the mounting ofthe guide segments 5 is facilitated. Moreover, screws 10 are providedfor the additional fixing of the guide segments 5 on the catcher 4.Finally, there is a spring plate 11 over the valve plate 3 which can forexample be constructed as a corrugated ring and abuts on the radialcatcher ribs 7.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the guide segments 5 are radially cut outfrom a solid ring which was manufactured with the necessary profileshape by turning, and are fixed on the catcher 4 by means of the screw10, which are equally spaced from one another. Between the guidesegments 5, which in each case are only one guide web 6 and a catcherrib 7, intermediate spaces are left which allow the medium flowing outfrom the flowthrough channels 2 of the valve seat to flow along theouter periphery of the valve plate 3 and also between the catcher ribs 7around plate 3 and the spring plate 11. Furthermore, it can easily beseen that the guide segments 5 have a simple geometrical form, can beproduced with correspondingly little expenditure and are easy to installin the valve or to exchange. Since they form independent structuralparts which are completely separate from the catcher 4 the guidesegments 5 can also consist of a material different from that of thecatcher, above all of a material such that goodslide properties at theguide surfaces of the axial guide webs 6 are ensured.

The arrangement according to the present invention can be used not onlywith the valve embodiment shown, in which the valve plate 3 consistsonly of a single ring, but can also find use with multi-ring valves, thevalve plate of which consists of several rings connected together byradial webs. In place of the spring plate 11, also helical springs canbe provided for spring-loading the valve plate 3, the said helicalsprings being supported in spring pockets which are recessed or tappedin the catcher 4. The axial guide webs 6 can just as well be provided onthe outer periphery of the valve plate 3, as in the case of the exampleof embodiment shown, or on the inner periphery of the same.

I claim:

1. A compressor valve comprising a valve seat and a catcher, a valveplate moveably located between the valve seat and the catcher, the valveplate being slidingly guided in an axial direction by separate guidemeans fixed to the catcher, wherein the separate guide means compriseaxial guide webs to which radially extending catcher ribs are connectedforming together therewith guide segments arranged circumferentiallyspaced about the valve plate, thesguide webs guiding the valve plateduring its axial movement and the radial ribs forming abutments spacedfrom the valve seat thereby allowing the medium controlled by the valveto flow along both the inner and the outer periphery of the valve plate,and between the catcher ribs from around the valve plate when the valveplate is in its open position.

2. A compressor valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide sgementshave an axially projecting centering edge with which they engage inacentering groove of the catcher.

3. A compressor valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein each guide segmenthas a single guide web with an associated catcher rib and the individualguide segments namic friction.

1. A compressor valve comprising a valve seat and a catcher, a valveplate moveably located between the valve seat and the catcher, the valveplate being slidingly guided in an axial direction by separate guidemeans fixed to the catcher, wherein the separate guide means compriseaxial guide webs to which radially extending catcher ribs are connectedforming together therewith guide segments arranged circumferentiallyspaced about the valve plate, the guide webs guiding the valve plateduring its axial movement and the radial ribs forming abutments spacedfrom the valve seat thereby allowing the medium controlLed by the valveto flow along both the inner and the outer periphery of the valve plate,and between the catcher ribs from around the valve plate when the valveplate is in its open position.
 2. A compressor valve as claimed in claim1, wherein the guide sgements have an axially projecting centering edgewith which they engage in a centering groove of the catcher.
 3. Acompressor valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein each guide segment has asingle guide web with an associated catcher rib and the individual guidesegments are arranged with equal spacing from one another.
 4. Acompressor valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide segments areof a material different from the catcher.
 5. A compressor valve asclaimed in claim 4 wherein the guide segment material has a lowcoefficient of dynamic friction.